Chapter 240: The Villain Dies from Talking Too Much

When a man gets to the top, everyone around him benefits. On the second day of arriving at Yanlin Stockade, Meng Wan, along with a few mute brothers, moved into a bamboo house closest to Gu Yao's.

The bamboo house was not as large as Gu Yao's residence, but at least they no longer had to crowd together with the large group from Pingtian Stockade. On the upper floor, there were two rooms: Meng Wan shared with A Yan, and A Xun shared the other with Huang Ye. Xue Sheng and Na Tuo had to crash on a bed on the ground floor, with bamboo mats on both sides to keep mosquitoes out.

"Husband, our rice and flour are running low," Huang Ye said to Meng Wan upstairs, almost in a whisper.

Meng Wan was making the bed. They had left all their luggage at the inn in the town at the foot of the mountain, only bringing two sets of Yao people's clothes each and two cloth sheets prepared for A Yan.

"It's fine, I can get us more flour and rice. Don't skimp on it, cook as much as usual."

After hearing this, Huang Ye felt reassured and went downstairs to prepare lunch.

The young master barely ate this morning. At noon, he could ask the neighbors if they can trade a few eggs and make a steamed egg custard for him. But Huang Ye still had to remember not to speak, and when he gestured, others always looked at him strangely.

At noon, just as they started eating downstairs, Gu Yao sent for Meng Wan. Having lived in the Yao stockade for over forty years, this was the first time Gu Yao truly understood what "kindred spirit" meant. They had only been apart for a short while, and yet he already wanted to find Meng Wan again to talk about life ideals. Even A Yan wasn't this clingy.

"Godfather, I know your ambitions are grand, but..." No, Meng Wan stopped mid-sentence, realizing his mistake. He caught the flat expression on Gu Yao's face and thought to himself that he couldn't directly dissuade him. He abruptly changed tack, turning it into a tone of deep distress: "But you're working way too hard. Those ordinary tribesmen simply can't appreciate your great and wise mind; they just whine stupidly."

Gu Yao's eyes flickered. "What've you heard?" As the Yao Chief, his authority in Yanlin Stockade was beyond doubt. No one dared to speak ill of him to his face.

Meng Wan looked indignant. "They enjoy the glory of Yanlin being top dog among the Yao now, but they complain under their breath about not wanting their husbands and sons to fight at Fengtong Stockade."

Meng Wan wasn't entirely lying about this. There were indeed people in the stockade dissatisfied with their family members going to attack Fengtong Stockade. After years of intermarriage between the two stockades, some even had siblings, nephews, nieces, and cousins in Fengtong Stockade. How could they be happy if either side got hurt? It would be better not to fight at all.

They really couldn't understand why the Yao Chief wanted to attack Fengtong Stockade.

The trouble with being clever is you overthink things. Meng Wan dropped a hint, and Gu Yao filled in the rest himself. His face darkened for a moment, then went back to normal as he retorted to Meng Wan, "They are just blinded by the peaceful life before them, not knowing that the peace they see now is just temporary. Fengtong has more able-bodied men than we do. Who knows if their Yao Chief might be the first to strike against our stockade?"

Meng Wan followed his lead. "Godfather is absolutely right. I can't stand how they sit back in the stockade and make wild guesses about you. I'm willing to carry on your vision and convey to the tribesmen just how much effort you have put into changing the current situation for the entire tribe. They simply don't understand!"

Meng Wan was like some scheming imperial concubine, feeding him malicious gossip in Gu Yao's ear. A barrage of words left Gu Yao speechless for a while.

Bored and hungry after running around all day, Meng Wan noticed a plate of fried pastries on the table, half-eaten by Gu Yao, with seven or eight more golden, crispy ones untouched. They looked delicious, so he quietly reached out, took one, and nibbled on it.

Gu Yao had just made some inner decision and was about to say something to Meng Wan when he saw the latter reaching for a second pastry. Even caught red-handed, Meng Wan showed no embarrassment; instead, he smiled broadly and continued eating.

"If you like them, you can take the whole plate when you leave," Gu Yao said with a kindly smile.

Meng Wan pulled the plate closer to himself, letting loose a stream of flattering words: "Godfather and I are closer than father and son. Only you understand and care about me, and I have never regarded you as anyone else. If I turned down a plate of pastries, wouldn't that break your heart? I'll gladly accept them."

Gu Yao saw that Meng Wan didn't mind his leftovers, so he pushed the half-eaten piece onto the edge of the plate himself. He found it amusing yet felt a sour ache in his chest—a strange feeling he'd never felt in twenty years of raising his own son.

"Good! I'll leave this matter to you. Come to me tonight; I will announce to all the headmen in the stockade that you are the next Yao Chief!"

Meng Wan carried the plate of fried pastries back to the bamboo house where he was staying. Passing by the kitchen, he casually threw the half-eaten piece under the stove. Huang Ye, seeing this, silently stuffed a handful of dry branches into the stove.

That evening, Gu Yao indeed publicly announced Meng Wan's status, sparking another round of criticism. They simply couldn't understand why the Yao Chief wouldn't choose his own son, Gu Yan, who had led the tribesmen to Fengtong Stockade, but instead chose a newcomer from a small mountain stockade who had just sought refuge with them.

It wasn't until the next day, when Meng Wan carried a cloth bundle and began "spreading the word" everywhere, relying on nothing but his silver tongue to quickly con a whole bunch of small‑stockade people into supporting him within a short time, that Gu Yao finally smelled something fishy.

Wasn't he supposed to enlighten the tribesmen? Why was he cozying up to all those people from small mountain stockades?

"It's because several of my younger brothers married close relatives that they each have defects. Haven't you noticed? Although most children are healthy, in recent years, haven't the number of children born with defects in the Yao stockades been increasing?"

Meng Wan sat on a rock by the stream, speaking eloquently. A crowd of Yao people surrounded him, mostly from the small stockades, but some from Yanlin Stockade were also present.

As he finished speaking, people began to discuss among themselves.

"What Shi Ye says is true. My brother's two kids—one was born missing two fingers, the other couldn't speak from birth."

"I remember your brother married your sister's daughter? It really is as Shi Ye said!"

"So that's why you can't marry your cousin? No wonder my daughter's baby turned out developmentally disabled. If only Shi Ye had come to the Yao stockade earlier, I wouldn't have let her marry Abu."

"Don't call him Shi Ye; he's our Yao Chief now!"

A few days ago, Meng Wan had managed to turn the Yao people from skeptical to now treating him with utmost respect. It wasn't just hot air—there was a lot of solid science behind it.

70% truth, 30% lies—truth mixed with lies—even Gu Yao was taken in.

"If we stay trapped in these deep mountains any longer, it won't take long—just three hundred years—and the tribe won't have any normal children born. So the key to growing our tribe isn't keeping others out, it's blending in: intermarriage with the Yu people!"

Gu Yao stood at the back of the crowd, forgetting all about his dignity as Yao Chief, and strode forward to Meng Wan's side. His face was dark as a storm cloud. "Was this intentional?"

Meng Wan stood up from the rock, looking innocent. "Godfather, what are you talking about? I've taken care of everything you asked. Now no one complains about you unifying the stockades every day!"

Instead, they were all thinking about how to marry their daughters and sons to the Yu people down the mountain or bring a few Yu wives back to the stockade.

"You're actually from Yu, aren't you? You're no Yao!" A few days later, Gu Yao finally figured out the key point. The direction in which he had previously guarded against Meng Wan was completely wrong. As an outsider, Meng Wan naturally had no fear of the Yao beliefs and vows. He could fabricate a deity of faith before Gu Yao to gain his trust.

Unexpectedly found out earlier than anticipated, Meng Wan's respectful expression instantly vanished. He sternly accused Gu Yao, "Are you badmouthing me just because I ripped off your selfish mask?"

"Tell me, why would you, as the Yao Chief of Yanlin Stockade, tell your son Headman Gu Yan to deliberately piss off Fengtong Stockade, which sparked a fight between the two stockades and led countless normally peaceful Yao people to their deaths?"

When someone hits you with a sharp question, the best move isn't to think of a way to dodge—it's to fire back with something even more embarrassing.

Although Gu Yao was clever, he was clearly no match for the battle-hardened Meng Wan. Knowing he couldn't win the argument, he simply sneered and waved his hand, summoning five or six sturdy men from Yanlin Stockade behind him.

"Godfather, are you really going to arrest me in front of all these fellow tribesmen?" Meng Wan pursed his lips, his eyes fixed vaguely ahead, his demeanor calm without a trace of the panic Gu Yao had imagined.

As his words fell, the men, women, and children surrounding them stood up with hostile expressions.

They had been forcibly recruited into the stockade by Yanlin's heavy-handed methods, yet they were given no proper housing, as if they were homeless vagrants. They had long been filled with resentment.

The chiefs of their own small stockades were rarely reliable; most were as weak and cowardly as Lan Duo's stockade chief, who had seniority but no achievements.

No one was a fool. The Yao people of these small stockades could feel whether Meng Wan was sincere or just putting on a show. Meng Wan was the chief they recognized—approachable, speaking for their benefit, a truly good man who cared about their future!

Because the grain from Heiye County hadn't arrived and there wasn't enough to supply the army on the road, Gu Yan could only withdraw half of his men back. Now, among all those remaining in the stockade, the number of able-bodied men from Yanlin Stockade was roughly equal to that from the other small stockades.

At this moment, all the small stockade people had been rallied by Meng Wan to resist. Adding the elderly and children, the crowd looked even larger than the Yanlin Stockade people. Of course, Meng Wan had no fear of Gu Yao.

Moreover, due to geographical location, the small stockades directly surrounded the outer perimeter, encircling the Yanlin people in the center, making it impossible for them to seek reinforcements from Gu Yan.

The situation that would have forced the small stockade people to revolt after decades of oppression by Yanlin Stockade had now erupted soon after they moved to Yanlin, thanks to Meng Wan's arrival.

After fully taking control of the entire Yao stockade, Meng Wan immediately sent people to call Gu Yan back from Fengtong Stockade. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation, ordering everyone to be on guard, ready to capture Gu Yan as soon as he showed up—catching him off guard!

"I also thank Godfather for gathering everyone together, saving me a lot of trouble," Meng Wan gloated, strutting arrogantly in front of Gu Yao.

Gu Yao was locked up alone in Pingtian Stockade, spending days accompanying Meng Wan in practicing his spoken Yao. Now he remained silent, letting Meng Wan taunt him.

"Remember, if you don't have the education, don't misuse military tactics. Just knowing how to recruit people won't do—you need to win their hearts! When leading an army to fight, why do you keep expanding your territory? Because you can replenish your forces and gather supplies. You..."

"Chief! Bad news! People are attacking from the mountain! They've already reached Sifang Stockade!" Just as he had sent his men out, before a stick of incense had burned down, a Yao from a small stockade came running frantically.

Meng Wan's heart skipped a beat. Damn. The villain dies from talking too much. Was I too arrogant too early?

He jumped up from his chair and asked, "They've come up? How is that possible? What about the patrols I posted every ten paces down the mountain?"

"Is that them?"

A rich, magnetic voice rang out. Meng Wan turned around and saw a young man of exceptional height, dressed in garments similar to the Yao people's attire but different in details. He was dragging two men behind him from the Yao village, who were the last two guards on the mountain.

Meng Wan carefully noticed an inconspicuous pregnancy mark on his face, and gasped. Damn, he had forgotten that there are still experts in this world. Someone with those skills could take on ten ordinary people at once.

He hid his surprise and composed his face, and put on a disarming smile, saying, "I wonder which clan's friend has come to our Yao territory? If there's something you want to discuss, please come over. Our Yao people are always hospitable. Please stay for a meal and let me be a proper host."

These guys are trouble. I need to have A Xun get some knockout drugs!

Gu Yao yelled from the bamboo building, "Don't believe him! He's a liar!"

Chi Yu looked puzzled. What was this beautiful Yao man saying? Lord Song had clearly said that the most handsome one on the mountain was his husband. Shouldn't his husband speak the Yu official language? He had even specially learned a few phrases. Had he found the wrong person?

Down the mountain, Song Tingzhou hurried into the forest of Yanlin Village, leading a large group of rebellious Yao people. What came into view was a vast area of unfinished bamboo buildings, with Yao people working and children playing together.

His son was standing among a group of children, big and small, balanced on one foot on a stone, gripping his knees to steady his wobbly stance.

As he spoke, his cheeks trembled, showing he was using great effort. "Repenish pwovisions! Conquer tewitory!"

Then he pointed at a little boy who was a head taller than him and said, "You! Bad bad! Find sh*t!!!"

Song Tingzhou: "..."

Behind him, the Tao brothers and others were all silently holding back laughter. Chu Ci suspected his younger brother had been switched.

Song Tingzhou let out a breath and called out, "A Yan."

A Yan was in the middle of his performance when he heard a familiar voice and turned around blankly. Then he saw Song Tingzhou, travel-worn with a stubbled chin, and muttered, "Dad?"

After calling out, his mouth quivered, and he started crying big tears. He jumped down from the stone and ran toward him, crying, "Dad!"

Song Tingzhou's heart softened. He strode forward to A Yan, bent down and hugged him into his arms. "Good A Yan, don't cry. Where's your other father?"

Xue Sheng walked over and bowed to Song Tingzhou. "My lord, your husband is talking with the person you sent."

A Yan also gestured, "As tall as Dad."

Song Tingzhou took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears from his face. "I'll take you to find your other father."

He left his men behind and took A Yan and Chu Ci to find Meng Wan. The snow wolf ran ahead of them with boundless energy, its massive body scaring the Yao villagers quite a bit.